Lionel Messi has joined another esteemed group: the 700-goal club.
Barcelona's dynamic Argentine maestro scored the 700th goal of his career for club and country in Tuesday's match vs. Atletico Madrid. Messi's 630th goal for Barcelona's first team came in his 724th appearance for the club, for a strike rate of .87 goals per game over the course of 16 years.
All of Messi's Barcelona goals pair with his national-record 70 for Argentina to put him in illustrious company. Josef Bican (805 goals), Romario (772), Pelé (767), Ferenc Puskas (746), Gerd Muller (735) and Cristiano Ronaldo (728) are the only other players in history to cross the 700 threshold based on official stats (unofficial tallies have Bican and Pelé well over 1,000).